In an earlier article, the Howl investigated how administrators and teachers feel about the i-Ready test. While they pointed out the value to the assessment, students don’t necessarily feel the same way. They groan and stress about scores and results.
“I’m a bit nervous, but I think I might be able to do well. I’m nervous if I go down [on my i-Ready score]; excited if I go up,” said Caleb M, an eighth grader.
The Howl found it interesting that teachers also see the challenge of testing week.
“[The i-Ready] is time-consuming. Unfortunately, that’s what I don’t like about it [because of] the long testing weeks,” said Mrs. Kuramata.
The assessment takes a considerable amount of time to complete. Students sometimes find it irritating to keep going when the length of a question is unknown. Only the progress bar reveals the progress of completing the test, and it isn’t exactly accurate.
“It’s boring and too long,” said seventh grader, Dylan G. “It’s i-Ready. We don’t get snacks and it takes up two weeks worth of our school time when we could be doing other things like reading a book. I don’t like reading, but I hate i-Ready with a passion.”
There are several reasons that explain why the i-Ready test has few Day Creek fans. Besides being time-consuming, it has questions that can be too easy or difficult depending on the results of a previous question. Students notice a variety of questions that they know, as well as some that are beyond their grade level. If a prior answer was incorrect, an easier question is given. And if an answer was correct, a question beyond their knowledge may be provided. Either way, students often loathe the process.
“I personally like the fact that it tries to challenge me, but part of [the test] is not exactly what I’ve learned within that year, so I have to keep stretching. And then it asks me for more when I don’t really know what it is asking me to do,” said Esperanza G.
Though familiar across campus, it isn’t the most pleasurable DCIS experience. Yet going through the process of answering questions, hoping for growth, and wrestling through the stress is part of student life. It’s not a trip to Disneyland, but it isn’t the end of the world either.
“i-Ready is boring, but you need it. If you don’t do [i-Ready], you won’t know where you’re at,” said Makenna F. “You’ll know your spot for math and ELA. You know if you need to improve yourself and push yourself a little harder.”
